Director: David Mallet

Summary: A collection of performers bring acrobatics to the theatre. With QUIDAM, the ensemble weaves a narrative of a young girl's adventures in an alternate universe into their surreal, death-defying performance.

Walking the tight rope between circus and theatre, Cirque du Soleil combines awe-inspiring acrobatics with elaborate lighting design, dazzling costumes, and engagingly moody live music. With QUIDAM, the ensemble weaves a narrative of a young girl's adventures in an alternate universe into their surreal, death-defying performance.

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When Cirque du Soleil first ventured beyond Canada's borders, its powerful, singularly ambitious "reinvention of the circus" seemed quixotic. Inspired by European precedents, this was a big top downsized to a more intimate, single ring, as the French-Canadian troupe jettisoned animals, banished the usual fright-wigged clowns in favour of funny folks versed in (gulp) pantomime, and focused on acrobats, contortionists and illusionists. Conventional wisdom would have held that such esoterica was doomed, but anyone lucky enough to catch that initial Cirque production (or, for that matter, any of its subsequent offerings) knows just how wrong conventional wisdom can be.

Cirque's creative brain trust, including "guide" Guy Laliberte and director Franco Dragone, have crafted each production as an extended performance piece framed by recurrent characters, unified production design and underlying themes. Already mesmerising visual tableaux and astonishing illusions are given an added poignancy (and, occasionally, true gravity) by the productions' underlying comments about society, conformity, beauty and emotion; even without such conscious motifs, however, Cirque's sheer artistry is never less than riveting.

Quidamrevolves around an Everychild, living with self-absorbed (and deliberately archetypal) parents, who is whisked away to a vividly surreal world where Cirque's remarkable acrobats and artists take literal flight. Their tools are often prosaic--oversized flying rings, an open steel wheel large enough for a single inhabitant, skateboards, ropes--yet the resulting images are stunning. Injecting further drama and atmosphere is the score (here by musical director Benoit Jutras), which is as far removed from traditional circus music as Cirque's "acts" are from Barnum &Bailey. Performed with synthesisers, electric guitar, solo reed instruments, percussion and voice (often singing in a kind of Esperanto that's tantalising yet foreign), Cirque's music can be dismissed as New Age only until heard in its intended context. Quidamcan't quite achieve the sheer, enveloping wonder that its theatrical source does, but for fans of Cirque du Soleil's unique performance art, this latest presentation sustains the troupe's magic. --Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Full Circle, Baroque Odyssey
Subtitles:	Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai
Year:	1999
Release Date:	December 27, 2000
Runtime:	90 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	G V D 010
Keywords:	Music, Wide, Screen, Performance, Plays, Performing, Soleil, Cirque, Arts, Du, Quidam, Soliel's
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts